DISCOURSE AND TRUTH: the probelmatization of Parrhesia
Six lectures given at the University of California at Berkeley 1983
By: Miachel Foucault
Ed. by Joseph Pearson in 1985 :" The text was compiled from tape-recordings made of six lectures
delivered, in English, by Michel Foucault at the University of California at Berkeley in the Fall Term of 1983.
The lectures were given as part of Foucault's seminar, entitled "Discourse and Truth". Since Foucault did
not write, correct, or edit any part of the text which follows, it lacks his imprimatur and does not present his
own lecture notes. What is given here constitutes only the notes of one of his auditors. Altough the present
text is primarily a verbatim transcription of the lectures, repetitive sentences or phrases have been
eliminated, responses to questions have been incorparated, whenever possible, into the lectures
themselves, and numerous sentences have been revised , all in the hope of producing a more readable set
of notes."
"My intention was not to deal with the problem of truth, but with the problem of truth-
teller or truth-telling as an activity. By this I mean that, for me, it was not a question of
analyzing the internal or external criteria that would enable the Greeks and Romans, or
anyone else, to recognize whether a statement or proposition is true or not. At issue
for me was rather the attempt to consider truth-telling as a specific activity, or as a
role." -Discourse & Truth, Concluding remarks by Foucault.
Parrhesia: In the classic discipline of rhetoric, parrhesia is a figure of speech described as: to
speak candidly or to ask forgiveness for so speaking. The term is borrowed from the Greek
παρρησία ("utterance, speech") meaning literally "to speak everything" and by extension "to
speak freely," "to speak boldly," or "boldness." It implies not only freedom of speech, but the
obligation to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk.
Contents:
1. The Meaning and Evolution of the Word "Parrhesia"
2. Parrhesia in the Tragedies of Euripides
3. Parrhesia and the Crisis of Democratic Institutions
4. Practice of Parrhesia
5. Techniques of the Parrhesiastic Games
6. Concluding Remarks to the Seminar
Six lectures given at the University of California at Berkeley 1983
By: Miachel Foucault
Ed. by Joseph Pearson in 1985 :" The text was compiled from tape-recordings made of six lectures
delivered, in English, by Michel Foucault at the University of California at Berkeley in the Fall Term of 1983.
The lectures were given as part of Foucault's seminar, entitled "Discourse and Truth". Since Foucault did
not write, correct, or edit any part of the text which follows, it lacks his imprimatur and does not present his
own lecture notes. What is given here constitutes only the notes of one of his auditors. Altough the present
text is primarily a verbatim transcription of the lectures, repetitive sentences or phrases have been
eliminated, responses to questions have been incorparated, whenever possible, into the lectures
themselves, and numerous sentences have been revised , all in the hope of producing a more readable set
of notes."
"My intention was not to deal with the problem of truth, but with the problem of truth-
teller or truth-telling as an activity. By this I mean that, for me, it was not a question of
analyzing the internal or external criteria that would enable the Greeks and Romans, or
anyone else, to recognize whether a statement or proposition is true or not. At issue
for me was rather the attempt to consider truth-telling as a specific activity, or as a
role." -Discourse & Truth, Concluding remarks by Foucault.
Parrhesia: In the classic discipline of rhetoric, parrhesia is a figure of speech described as: to
speak candidly or to ask forgiveness for so speaking. The term is borrowed from the Greek
παρρησία ("utterance, speech") meaning literally "to speak everything" and by extension "to
speak freely," "to speak boldly," or "boldness." It implies not only freedom of speech, but the
obligation to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk.
Contents:
1. The Meaning and Evolution of the Word "Parrhesia"
2. Parrhesia in the Tragedies of Euripides
3. Parrhesia and the Crisis of Democratic Institutions
4. Practice of Parrhesia
5. Techniques of the Parrhesiastic Games
6. Concluding Remarks to the Seminar
